hair S1 W1 /heə $ her/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ hair , ↑ hairiness ; adjective : ↑ hairless ≠ ↑ hairy ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hær ]
1 . [uncountable] the mass of things like fine threads that grows on your head:
Her hair was short and dark.
a short fat man with no hair on his head
fair-haired/dark-haired/long-haired etc
He’s a tall fair-haired guy.
GRAMMAR
In this meaning, hair is an uncountable noun:
▪
He has black hair (NOT black hairs).
2 . [countable] one of the long fine things like thread that grows on people’s heads and on other parts of their bodies, or similar things that grow on animals:
The cat has left white hairs all over the sofa.
I’m starting to get a few grey hairs.
long-haired/short-haired
long-haired cats
3 . be tearing/pulling your hair out to be very worried or angry about something, especially because you do not know what to do:
Anyone else would have been tearing their hair out trying to work it out.
4 . let your hair down informal to enjoy yourself and start to relax, especially after working very hard:
The party gave us all a chance to really let our hair down.
5 . bad hair day a day when your hair does not look tidy or neat even when you try to arrange it carefully – used humorously:
I’m having a bit of a bad hair day.
6 . keep your hair on British English spoken used to tell someone to keep calm and not get annoyed:
All right, all right, keep your hair on! I’m sorry.
7 . get in sb’s hair informal to annoy someone, especially by always being near them
8 . make sb’s hair stand on end to make someone very frightened
9 . make sb’s hair curl if a story, experience etc makes your hair curl, it is very surprising, frightening, or shocking:
tales that would make your hair curl
10 . not have a hair out of place to have a very neat appearance
11 . not turn a hair to remain completely calm when something bad or surprising suddenly happens
12 . not harm/touch a hair of/on sb’s head to not harm someone in any way
13 . the hair of the dog (that bit you) alcohol that you drink to cure a headache caused by drinking too much alcohol the night before – used humorously
⇨ have a good/fine/thick etc head of hair at ↑ head 1 (14), ⇨ not see hide nor hair of at ↑ hide 2 (5), ⇨ split hairs at ↑ split 1 (8)
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ colour
▪ dark
He’s about six feet tall, with dark hair and blue eyes.
▪ black
his long black hair
▪ jet black literary (=completely black)
She had shiny jet black hair, and skin as white as snow.
▪ fair
Her long fair hair fell untidily over her shoulders.
▪ blond/blonde (=yellowish-white in colour)
long blonde hair and blue eyes
▪ golden
the beautiful girl with the long golden hair
▪ brown
Her hair was pale brown.
▪ chestnut literary (=dark brown)
She had a fine head of chestnut hair.
▪ sandy (=yellowish-brown)
He wore his long, sandy brown hair in a ponytail.
▪ mousy (=an unattractive dull brown)
I have pale, mousy hair that is dull and lacks shine.
▪ red
The whole family had red hair.
▪ ginger British English (=orange-brown in colour)
a cheeky little boy with ginger hair
▪ auburn literary (=orange-brown in colour)
He gazed at her long neck and beautiful auburn hair.
▪ white
an old man with white hair
▪ grey British English , gray American English
She was about 70, with grey hair.
▪ silver
Her father’s hair was starting to turn silver.
■ length
▪ short
I like your hair when it’s short like that.
▪ long
A few of the boys had long hair.
▪ shoulder-length/medium-length
He had shoulder-length reddish hair.
■ type
▪ straight
a girl with long straight hair
▪ curly
When he was young, his hair was thick and curly.
▪ frizzy (=tightly curled)
She had dark frizzy hair which might have been permed.
▪ wavy (=with loose curls)
Her golden wavy hair fell around her shoulders.
▪ thick
She had thick hair down to her waist.
▪ fine (=thin)
Her hair is so fine, it’s difficult to style.
▪ spiky (=stiff and standing up on top of your head)
Billy had black spiky hair.
■ condition
▪ in good/bad/terrible etc condition
How do you keep your hair in such perfect condition?
▪ out of condition (=no longer in good condition)
If your hair is out of condition, this may be because you are eating the wrong foods.
▪ glossy/shiny
She combed her hair until it was all glossy.
▪ lustrous literary (=very shiny and attractive)
her lustrous dark hair flowing on to her shoulders
▪ dull (=not shiny)
a shampoo for dull hair
▪ greasy (=containing too much oil)
This shampoo is ideal for greasy hair.
▪ dry (=lacking oil)
a shampoo for dry hair
▪ lank especially literary (= thin, straight, and unattractive)
a scruffy young man with lank hair
▪ thinning (=becoming thinner because you are losing your hair)
His dark hair was thinning on top.
▪ receding (=gradually disappearing, so that it is high on your forehead)
The man was in his late thirties, and his hair was receding slightly.
▪ dishevelled especially literary (=very untidy)
His face was bright red and his hair looked dishevelled.
▪ tousled especially literary (=a little untidy, in a way that looks attractive)
his youthfully handsome face and tousled hair that hung untidily over his collar
▪ windswept especially literary (=blown around by the wind)
Her hair was all windswept when they came off the beach.
■ verbs
▪ have ... hair
She has beautiful blonde hair.
▪ brush/comb your hair
He cleaned his teeth and brushed his hair.
▪ wash your hair
He showered and washed his hair.
▪ do your hair ( also fix your hair American English ) (=arrange it in a style)
She’s upstairs doing her hair.
▪ have your hair cut/done/permed ( also get your hair cut etc ) (=by a hairdresser)
I need to get my hair cut.
▪ cut sb’s hair
My Mum always cuts my hair.
▪ dye your hair (blonde/red etc) (=change its colour, especially using chemicals)
Craig has dyed his hair black.
▪ wear your hair long/in a ponytail etc (=have that style of hair)
He wore his hair in a ponytail.
▪ grow your hair (long) (=let it grow longer)
I’m growing my hair long, but it’s taking forever.
▪ lose your hair (=become bald)
He was a small, round man who was losing his hair.
▪ run your fingers through sb’s hair (=touch someone’s hair in a loving way)
He ran his fingers through her smooth silky hair.
▪ ruffle sb’s hair (=rub it in a kind friendly way)
He patted me on the back and ruffled my hair.
■ hair + NOUN
▪ hair loss
The drug can cause hair loss.
▪ hair colour British English , hair color American English
Genes control characteristics such as hair colour and eye colour.
▪ hair dye
The survey showed that 75% of women have used hair dye.
■ phrases
▪ a strand/wisp of hair (=a thin piece of hair)
She brushed away a strand of hair from her eyes.
▪ a lock of hair (=a fairly thick piece of hair)
She tossed a stray lock of hair back off her forehead.
▪ a mop of hair (=a large amount of thick untidy hair)
He had an unruly mop of brown hair.
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say ' I cut my hair ' if another person cut your hair for you. Say I had my hair cut '.